This is not the normal Gothic-Punk setting common to the World of Darkness games. Nor is it Gothic Horror, really. The Victorian Age has its own feel, sharing aspects of both, but unique in its own way. The people of this time are torn by two very opposing feelings. One is the confidence and optimism of a brave new world, where science and technology seem to hold all the answers to mankind's every need, from the philosophical to the practical. The darkness of previous ages has retreated, leaving a world that is able to be explained and controlled. On the other hand, industry and science also terrify them. The cold, impersonal eye of reason has robbed them of the security of religion and moral questions which once seemed simple are now complicated and unresolved. Many feel that man's spirit is in danger of being crushed by the swiftness of progress, that something essential is being lost. This paradox is the heart of the Victorian mentality.
The dawn of the Enlightenment saw the Order of Reason gaining the upper hand in the Ascension War, but it is after the crowning of Queen Victoria, amidst the rise of industrialization, that the struggle begins to take on the form it has in the modern day. During her reign, the last remnants of mysticism and religion are stripped away from the Order, cumulating in its rebirth as the Technocratic Union. However, to assume that this is a smooth transition is to make the mistake many do concerning the Union, to perceiving it as a cold, heartless mechanism rather than a group of individuals with personal beliefs, agendas, and passions. It is impossible to forget this during the Victorian age, for it is this difficult period of change that some of the greatest fighting occurs within the Technocracy as new Conventions rise and old Conventions are made obsolete.
The Traditions are no better off. Two of the seats in the Council of Nine sit empty since the betrayal of the Solficati and the disappearance of the Ahl-i-Batini. The integrity of the alliance at risk, and the unchecked spread of the Order of Reason's paradigm has left many wondering if the battle is not already lost. Others, however, refuse to give up the fight and use the Sleepers' reservations about this modern age to sow the seeds of doubt about the value of progress and the power of science. In their war, they find strange allies in those left behind by the new direction of the Order, members of the religious and mystical sects which see science as a gift from the Almighty and spurn the secular heresy which the new Union wishes them to adopt.
Meanwhile, mystics of the Crafts are struggling to fight a war of survival against the Technocracy as Void Seekers map ancient lands out of existence and lead explorers into the most remote regions of the world, destroying their ancient cultures and bringing their artifacts back to be cataloged and stored away in the British Museum. Some are driven into the arms of the Traditions while others hold out vainly on their own. A few even strike out at their oppressors at the heart of their empire, coming to Europe seeking vengeance and the downfall of the Order of Reason. Of course, the disorder and stress that these struggles create is a prime breeding ground for Nephandi, as arrogant or desperate mages try and craft intricate deals with dark forces that will advance their cause and harm their enemies, willing to sell their soul for power or the chance to exact vengeance.
All of this conflict occurs behind a veil of propriety. Polite words and strict etiquette do well to conceal from the casual observer the intense issues which lurk beneath the surface. This is a time of social turmoil lost behind a facade of civility, of massive change and the struggle to adjust, and of a shift in the paradigm of the West and its propagation throughout the world under the flag of the British Empire. At no other time in history has the struggle between the old and the new, religion and science, the weak and the powerful been so acute. This is the Ascension War at its most intense, and reality is the ultimate prize.